Tuesday, 8 May 2018

Cats and Kids - A True Love Story

Cats
and Kids – a True Love-Story

As long-term Cats Protection employees,
the feline contingent of our home is, as you mightimagine, something of a motley crew.We have Episkey, a thirteen year old tabby
and white male who had mobility issues as a kitten, taken on by my husband,
Phil, long before he was my husband; Fenton, a fifteen year old black and white
moggy, an archetypal independent gentleman with no teeth; Stoat, a three year
old ginger and white boy who came to live with Phil, as a semi-feral
long-stayer; and Mouse, a tiny two year old boy, named because of his size and
looks as a kitten.

When Phil and I discovered I was
pregnant, we worried about how the boys would react to the addition of a tiny
human to our quiet home.At Axhayes,
pretty much every day we get calls from people wanting to, or thinking they
ought to put their cats up for adoption because there’s a baby on the way.In most cases, it’s a heart-breaking decision.However, with a bit of planning and foresight,
you can make the change easier on your pets.It might not work out in every case, but pregnancy doesn’t necessarily mean
that you have to say goodbye to your feline friends.

Here’s what we did:

1.It is important to know that as long as you wear gloves when cleaning and
disinfecting litter trays, and empty them regularly, there is no need to part
with your cat. (Even better, ask a family member to do it for you!) Go to: https://catsprotection.sharepoint.com/sites/catnav/cp/CP/Documents/Communications/Media
– other downloads/Pregnant cat owners – factsheet.doc

2.We put Feliway
plug-in diffusers throughout the house to help create a calm environment
for our cats. Go to: https://catsprotection.sharepoint.com/sites/catnav/catcare/Pages/Ceva-Feliway-Products-.aspx.

3.We let the cats see, and, more importantly, smellthe Moses basket, the clothes, the
pack of nappies etc, as we bought them in preparation.This was so that they were familiar sights to the boys, so it
wasn’t so much of a shock for them when baby and I came home from hospital.

4.It is an old
wives’ tale that cats sit on babies and smother them.Stoat jumped in the Moses basket out of
curiosity before our baby, Kafka, arrived, but as soon as he saw that Kafka was
sleeping there and the bed was taken, he stopped.If you are concerned, shut the bedroom door.

5.Something our boys have in common is that they are
nervous around new people, and are scared of loud noises.Again, it’s the ‘softly, softly’ approach that you need to take.

Unlike humans, smell is a cat’s primary sense. Kakfa had to stay in hospital in an
incubator fora week before we were able
to take him home. The nurses gave us
little tied muslins to sleep with and then put in with Kafka so he could smell
us and know us (scent-swapping works
with humans as well as cats – who knew?!) so each day, Phil took one that Kafka
had slept with, home so that the boys could smell him and start to know him, so
that he would be familiar to them when he arrived home.Once home, we kept Kafka upstairs for a
couple of days when we were at home, so that the boys would get used to his crying,
and adjust to the fact that there was a new member of the family.

6.Probably the most important thing – make a fuss of
your cat/cats.Don’t ignore them, or
push them away.Show them that you love them too.

And,
touch wood, it worked!A cat’s innate
curiosity helped too – they all wanted to see the tiny loud thing that had joined
our family! Stoat started sitting by us first – he was a bit jealous that there
was someone else on Phil’s lap – but when we made a fuss of him too, and he
realised that Kafka wasn’t a threat to him, he was fine.Fenton has surprized me the most,
though.He’ll come and sit next to Kafka
now, and sit on his play mat with him.If Kafka kicks his legs or gets a bit loud, Fenton will move to the end
of the bed, but he soon comes back!

Kafka is
eight months old now, and it is up to us to make sure he respects the cats as
they respect him.We’re teaching him to
be gentle when he goes to stroke them.

Phil and
I both grew up with cats and we know that they can be a child’s best
friend.Saying hello toyour new baby doesn’t mean that you have to
say goodbye to your feline friend.

Now all
we have to worry about is teaching Kafka that although Mouse and Stoat are
cats, mice and stoats aren’t!

For more
news about Exeter Axhayes Adoption Centre or Taunton Homing & Info
Centre and the cats we have available for adoption, you can follow us
on our Facebook @cpexeteraxhayes, Twitter
and Instagram.